Good people, I will be on BBC World News on Friday. While I have done many audio-only interviews for BBC, this one will be video. It would be great. I will share exact time once I have that.

Zenvus Founder Ndubuisi Ekekwe Speaks to BBC World Service

Sanwo-Olu vs. Sanwo-Olu. I came into Lagos for few hours of commerce and flying out in hours. As I moved across connections meeting clients, one thing was evident on the billboards: Sanwo-Olu (APC Lagos state gubernatorial candidate) was running against Sanwo-Olu.

Then, I saw the most magical micro-messaging: Sanwo-Olu spoke in Igbo, thundering “Igbo kwe nu” and below it, he has “Support Growth”. He has the best team in political campaign in Nigeria. The messaging changes as you travel from VI to Yaba, Oshodi to Ikeja. Let me say this: he is winning.

People, I am yet to see a billboard for the PDP gubernatorial flagbearer for Lagos state. Simply, we have a political asymmetric warfare here where Sanwo-Olu is winning hands-down.

Mr. Governor, Sanwo-Olu: congratulations.

As I have long predicted that once solar makes decent improvement on our electricity needs, government will remember it for revenue generation.  That is how we behave in this African nation: everything must be money and more money for government.

So, it has happened: government is piling 10% tariff (from 5%) on solar panels which are imported into the nation. Simply, the price of solar panels will go up since no one makes any in Nigeria as you need grid electricity before you can make solar panels, and since we do not have any reliable grid electricity, everyone imports.

Nigeria’s plan to produce 30 per cent of its electricity through renewable energy may be stalled as the price of generating solar power has soared, The Nation has learnt.

Solar energy is the commonest and cheapest form of renewable energy produced by individuals, local and state governments. Private firms also see it as cheaper compared to biomass.

It was gathered that the price of generating solar power has gone up, following Federal Government’s decision to increase customs duty on solar power equipment from five to 10 per cent.

Findings at the weekend also revealed that the issue had resulted in the closure of many solar firms, as they could barely procure materials for operation. It was also discovered that price of solar panels, batteries and other equipment had risen considerably.

Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN) President, Mr Segun Adaju, said the development was expected as there was no other means of generating solar electricity except through importation of solar equipment.

But there is good news: Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN) President, Mr Segun Adaju, has written the government, national assembly and the customs, seeking for a reversal. Usually, that is impossible as that revenue is also allocated for something.

Mr. Elon Musk and Tesla, welcome to Nigeria as you plan to arrive with your solar business. We hope your AI can model the stochastic nature of Nigerian business policies. As it stands today, budget additional 5% to the cost of your product as the original model has already changed!

A nation in motion. Yes, when most nations are subsidizing renewable energy and incentivizing its citizens to adopt same, Nigeria wants to fix its budget holes from it. That is unfortunate. I hope they reverse this decision as it does nothing to provide accessible electricity in Nigeria.

I walked into an executive suite of a company. Three male executives with a lady were discussing around a table. As soon as I arrived, the men stood up and extended their hands. We shook hands and greeted. The lady looked up and did nothing. Without knowing her reason, I extended my hand, but she withdrew. Then, one of the men said “Meet our Chairman and our major shareholder”.

Quickly, the lady stood up and then extended her hand to me: I ignored her. I excused the three leaders as I needed to pass an important insight in person to them, while in town. The lady was a contractor to the firm. As I spoke with our team, I watched her looking at her palm – perhaps it has caused her problem.

To cut the story short: the lady no matter her capabilities failed a simple test – authenticity. I said no word but was surprised that she sent an apology via our team. In my response, I wrote:

“Team, she did nothing to me. But consider if that attitude was extended to our junior colleagues especially in your absence. She may show respect to three of you because you pay her bills, but I am nearly sure she does not really have any interest in this business except the bank alerts. Her issue was NOT not greeting me – her major challenge was deciding to act after she discovered who I was. That spirit kills vision as she could denigrate our junior colleagues because she knows better. There is a better person; discover him or her”.

You need authentic people to execute Missions – make sure you have them.

LinkedIn Comment on Feed

Whether you call it eye, lip, leg or hand service, it’s a virus that has infested large swathes of mankind, originality and authenticity is obviously a premium.

There is a big difference between compliance and commitment, many people you see around are forced to do the former, while you are watching, but the real deal is the latter; that’s how you separate fake people from the original ones.

We fake love, friendship, empathy, professionalism; in fact, authentic humans are rare breeds, if you have ever met a handful of them, congratulations, you are one of the luckiest people on earth.

Finally, it is now possible that Nigerians will have electricity. Tesla is coming to Nigeria with Powerwall and this could be the inflection point where most electricity problems would disappear, at least at homes. Abia State should offer Tesla state tax holiday for ten years so that Tesla will locate its Nigeria headquarters in Umuahia! I get it – I really want Umuahia to grow. Sure, just a dream.

According to Wikipedia, the Powerwall is a rechargeable lithium-ion battery stationary energy storage product; it is intended to be used for home energy storage and stores electricity for solar self-consumption, time of use load shifting, backup power, and off-the-grid use

The list price for a new Tesla Powerwall 2.0 battery, which offers twice the storage capacity of the original Powerwall, is $6,700. Supporting hardware adds another $1,100 to the equipment costs, bringing the total to $7,800. Installation can add anywhere from $2,000 to $8,000 to the final bill, notes EnergySage.

Update: It seems Tesla is coming with Powerpack and not Powerwall – read here.